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Introduction
Bunch Of Thoughts
M.S. Golwalkar
Part Three - The Path To Glory
(B) For Social Uplift
XXVIII. ‘Untouchability’- The Curse And The Cure
Religious perversion at the root - Historic call of the Dharmagurus - Violent approach recoils - Motivated propaganda of Harijan-non-Harijan confrontation - Special privileges for the needy of all castes - The "untouchables" excel many fronts - Work from the heart - Secret of success in Sangh.
AT the root of the malady of "untouchability" lies the belief among the common mass of people that it is part of dharma, and transgressing it would be a grave sin. This religious perversion is the chief reason why this pernicious practice has continued to stick to the popular mind till now in spite of dedicated efforts put in by a host of religious stalwarts and social reformers over centuries. Guru Nanak, Acharya Ramanuja, Basaveshwara, Shankar Dev, Swami Dayananda, Narayana Guru, Gandhiji and Veer Savarkar, to name only a few, have striven their utmost to eradicate this standing blot on Hindu society.
But the blot remained. Even now the so-called higher castes refuse to treat the so-called untouchables as their equals. Papers have reported that in a village in Rajasthan a Harijan youth was beaten to death because he grew moustaches, which was supposed to be the prerogative of only the Kshatriya! Not did our dharmagurus condemn such practices because even they mistook the custom for Dharma.
A Momentous Session
That this social evil draws its sustenance from a religious misconception suggests that the traditional mathadhipatis, who are looked upon by the people at large as the authentic spokesmen of Dharma, should come forward to set right this anti-religious practice. A right beginning was made, in this direction, at the Vishwa Hindu Sammelan at Udupi in 1969.
All the various sampradayas in the Hindu fold - the Shaiva, Veerashaiva, Madhwa, Vaishnava, Jaina, Buddha, Sikh - were represented in the conference. A resolution calling upon the Hindu world to banish "untouchability" in all their religious and social affairs in accordance with the directive of the revered dharmagurus and acharyas, was passed unanimously.
Author : M. S. Golwalkar
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